Chapter 08
Whether it was an instinctive plea, or a result calculated through meticulous planning, was unclear.
But in the end, the single statement from the head inside the tank temporarily halted the suppression of Anomaly No.101, led by Code Name ‘Cosette’ from the Field Operations Division of the Anomaly Management Bureau.
—
“The Human Preservation Foundation Federation is supposed to protect all humans equally and fairly. That’s its founding principle, after all.”
“That’s funny, considering you didn’t listen to a word I said earlier.”
“Well, back then, what was in the autopsy room was a corpse without vital signs. Now, it’s not. The difference is clear, isn’t it?”
—
Still clad in her bulletproof vest, Cosette gestured with her chin towards the researchers bustling about.
The research building, which had been automatically sealed upon detection of the anomaly, was reopened at Cosette’s request. Only the autopsy room, believed to contain the anomaly, was cordoned off and controlled.
And the head, which Friedrich had stuffed into that mysterious tank, was nowā
“āIt’s very faint, but it doesn’t seem to be a flat brainwave. How did you even think to put that head in there? In a ‘brain storage unit’?”
āplaced on an examination table surrounded by researchers. The head, floating inside the glass tank, had its green eyes half-lidded.
Sensors submerged in the viscous fluid intermittently sent irregular lines to a monitor.
It was a sight that would make an ordinary person faint.
Yet Friedrich stared at it calmly and muttered.
“I remembered seeing it last time I was here.”
“You have a keen eye. But shouldn’t you pay the price for misusing an unfinished research project? It was, after all, created using data and materials collected by the Foundation Federation.”
“Bill it to me.”
“An insincere offer. More importantly, what were you planning to do with that person?”
“What I want is observation and investigation of No.101. I want to observe how, when the owner of that head awakens, they could exist within an anomaly in a human body.”
“Hmm.”
“As you know, when we found them in the Economic Zone, the average person wasā”
“Definitely dead, yes. Even if they were drawn into the anomaly, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. So, whether by chance or miracle, it’s clear that person will be managed by the Foundation. They might even be the first case where we’ve secured a sample that could be the very source of the anomaly itself.”
“What does the Research Management Division say? They must have heard by now.”
“They’re welcoming it with open arms, of course. They’re already drafting experimental plans. The only issue is whether that thing will be classified as No.101, or as a human individual with a name. That depends on the decision from above.”
—
As its name suggests, the Human Preservation Foundation Federation’s ultimate goal is the eternal preservation of humanity.
However, as the name also implies, even though the Foundation itself is a single organization, there are various groups and individuals contributing their power beneath it.
The Foundation maintains balance by listening to their protests and requests, considering them, discussing them, and persuading them.
One of the issues that has yet to be properly coordinated is the definition of ‘human.’
Human: *Homo sapiens*, the species of primates in the family Hominidae. The scope encompasses current humanity and its ancestors.
But in modern times, diverse attempts have been made to redefine the established concept of ‘human.’
Some focused on the physical formāhead, torso, arms, and legs. Other groups asked if they possessed a unique language and the ability to think for themselves. Still others used the ability to create sophisticated tools as their standard.
Some considered the unique ethics and morality possessed only by humans as important.
Others looked at the ability to form social groups.
Humanity has been denied and accepted many times from various perspectives. Yet, no proper conclusion has been reached.
Is that entity human? Or is it merely an anomaly dreaming a dream?
Friedrich tried to strip away his own preconceptions and asked himself, but it remained a difficult question to answer.
—
“Another heated debate, I suppose.”
“Why, are you thinking of joining in? Our Director might approve.”
“No thanks. Whether that thing is defined as an anomaly or recognized as human has nothing to do with me. I just need permission to investigate it.”
—
As long as he could obtain sufficient results from the investigation, he didn’t care if it disappeared or was quarantined afterward.
Friedrich’s mind gradually shifted towards the autopsy room, now declared a controlled zone.
—
***
Raimund distinctly remembered losing consciousness inside the tank.
Thanks to that white-haired man who unilaterally announced he had only a few minutes left, he thought he’d died and fallen into a hell where his head was cleanly severed.
But now, he was being ruthlessly stabbed in the eyes again by the white light shining down from the ceiling.
What the hell? Does death stack too…?
This time, he could clearly recognize the body attached below his neck. As he wiggled his fingers and toes slightly, a black shadow suddenly loomed over him.
“You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Guh.”
“Ah, don’t speak. Since it’s a body you haven’t used for a while, it’ll take time for your fine motor skills to adapt. Can you see this?”
Raimund squinted and looked at the fingers the shadow held out. As he nodded, the fingers disappeared.
“Can you raise your arms? If possible, try moving your legs too.”
He succeeded with his arms, but his legs lacked strength, and he failed, only managing a twitch.
The stranger spoke kindly.
“This is a success, then. It’s best to lie down until you come to your senses properly. I’ll be back soon, so rest for a while.”
Nod, nod.
Seeing that Raimund understood, he headed somewhere. As his footsteps and presence faded, Raimund finally felt relieved.
When he moved his fingers, a ‘ting’ sound echoed. The bed was hard, with not even a sheet on it. No wonder the texture felt cheap.
He thought he was going to die without a fight, but he barely survived. Actually, when he first woke up, he wondered if this was hell, the destination of the dead. But the lack of blazing sulfur fires and boiling cauldrons suggested otherwise.
But how?
Raimund summoned all his strength and got down from the bed. It was the first time his legs felt like thin straws. The muscles throughout his body refused to obey, as if they had been severed and reconnected. He barely managed to lift himself, moving as slowly as a snail, and his head spun.
His limbs didn’t feel like his own. It was like wearing a powered suit that responded a beat slower than his thoughts.
The floor was solid and cold. The sudden sensation gave him goosebumps.
The space he was in was a perfect white square. It wasn’t cramped, but it wasn’t excessively large either.
If he had to compare, it seemed about twice the size of his bedroom on the second floor of his house in Ebony Lane. But unlike his bedroom, this place was completely white and looked as if it had not a speck of dust or a single bacterium.
There was nothing in the room besides the bed he had been lying on. The clothes he was wearing were also gone.
Where the hell did the t-shirt and jeans he was wearing go, and why was he wearing only a single thin piece of cloth that was open at the bottom?
Raimund absentmindedly craned his neck to look inside and unintentionally let out a sound.
“Huh.”
Why no underwear? No, isn’t this a bit much? Isn’t underwear a basic human right?
Why am I in a strange place, being mercilessly deprived of my basic rights? More importantly, who took my underwear?
Raimund was hit by a fresh wave of shock.
He wasn’t sure, but if this was a place full of perverts who would even steal his underwear, he needed to escape as soon as possible.
He approached the room’s only door. He intended to go just close enough to see if it had a lock, but the door opened automatically.
Raimund, accustomed only to rusty padlocks and latches, found this cutting-edge system a bit fascinating as he passed through.
The outside he stepped into was… dark. Unlike the excessively bright room.
The corridor wasn’t the kind you’d normally imagine. It seemed more like a type of bridge.
A metal bridge with gaps in the floor was suspended from a dizzyingly high ceiling. He wasn’t sure; he couldn’t see where the ceiling was anyway.
To see how high the ceiling was, Raimund craned his neck back and took a few steps backward, when he suddenly could make out the exterior wall of the room he had emerged from.
A container, or a block made of marble.
Above the door, a number was painted in red.
[ No.101 ]
101? What does that mean?
But no matter how long he stared at the numbers, the problem wouldn’t be solved immediately.
What mattered was how to get out of here, and how to get home.
He started walking along the bridge aimlessly. A chilly wind blew from below.
Raimund realized that there were many other blocks, just like the one he had come out of.
Each block had a number painted in red. Of course, not all blocks were like that. Some were painted yellow, some had unidentified devices plastered all over their entrances.
Some blocks had their entrances completely sealed like a wall. From those, faint thumping sounds could be heard.
Noticing that these blocks were shaking slightly, Raimund finally saw that the tops of the blocks were connected to the ceiling by thick chains.
In a place where the only light came from small safety lights installed on the bridge floor,
Numerous blocks hung suspended like fruit in a vast dome where the floor and ceiling seemed impossibly far away.
Raimund stopped walking.
He heard a faint, echoing cry from somewhere.
A plaintive *woo-woo-woo* sound echoed, reflecting off the blocks and walls, distorting grotesquely.
Not here. Is it coming from down below?
Just as Raimund cautiously poked his head over the bridge railing, he had the illusion of seeing the sound of lapping water and shimmering black waves far below.
Where is that? Is there a reason they filled the bottom with water?
Just as his upper body began to tilt further outwardā
“āYou should be careful. One wrong move and you’ll fall to your death.”
Someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Dragged by the rough force, Raimund turned around. His green eyes widened. Oh, this person. She looks familiar.
As Raimund’s mouth flapped open, the woman’s brown eyes crinkled with a smile.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Met before? Yeah. I remember the woman with her hair tied back. Probably when… when I was definitely inside that tank.
She let go of his clothes, instead grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly.
“Nice to meet you. Feel free to call me Cosette. I didn’t expect you to come out to meet me all the way here.”
“Uh. Uh-huh.”
Do I know her? He had certainly seen her before, but there was no reason for her to treat him so familiarly.
As Raimund stared in bewilderment, the woman named ‘Cosette’ said cheerfully,
“I didn’t expect you to be out for a stroll already, though. If I’d known you’d adapt this quickly, I could have visited yesterday. It’s a bit humid here, right? As you just saw, there’s water at the bottom. It’s about 200 feet deep, so if you fall in, just consider yourself dead.”
“Uh. Uh-huh.”
“I heard your voice hasn’t come back yet. You’ll adapt to your new body soon enough. The Research Management Division was thrilled, calling it a new challenge. Are you feeling a bit better now?”
New body? What is she talking about?
Raimund blinked.
The woman, wearing a smile that was somewhat affected but clearly well-trained, continued cheerfully.
“The burned skin was treated with stem cell transplants. Of course, since your head remained intact, it didn’t take too long. However, they said it would take time to synchronize your body and head…”
According to the Research Management Division’s diagnosis. They’re not the medical support team, but they are the most knowledgeable about anomalies.
She kept talking about something, but none of it registered. Raimund took a step back.
Anomaly? Only the head left?
What does that mean?
So, being inside that tank wasn’t a dream?
That was all real?
The woman tilted her head at the pale-faced Raimund.
“Is something wrong?”
“Guh. Uh.”
“Ah… You still don’t know much, do you? It’s okay if you can’t understand everything. But there’s something I really must tell you.”
She spread her arms wide.
Behind Cosette, countless blocks, seemingly floating in the void, swayed with eerie clanking chains amidst silence that resembled emptiness.
A sight that would remain etched in his memory for life, like a brand, was deeply imprinted in Raimund’s mind.
“Welcome to the Human Preservation Foundation Federation, No.101.”
